1. Field
The disclosure relates generally to handheld electronic devices and, more particularly, to a method for responding to an incoming communication received by a handheld electronic device.
2. Background Information
Numerous types of handheld electronic devices are known. Examples of such handheld electronic devices include, for instance, personal data assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellular telephones, and the like. Although some handheld electronic devices are stand-alone devices, many feature wireless communication capability for communication with other devices.
Such handheld electronic devices are generally intended to be portable. Many handheld electronic devices are small enough to fit within, for example, a jacket pocket, a belt holster, a briefcase, or a purse. These handheld electronic devices may incorporate a number of output devices (such as, for instance, a speaker, a display, an LED, and a vibrating mechanism) to notify a user of an incoming communication (e.g., telephone call, email, instant message, etc.).
Oftentimes, however, the user receives, and is notified of, an incoming communication at an inopportune time. For example, the user may receive a telephone call while attending a meeting. Although desiring to do so, the user may be unable to immediately answer and respond to the incoming call. Accordingly, the person placing the call may be redirected to the user's voice mail system which provides a general voice mail message as a response. In some instances, it may be important that the caller have immediate confirmation that the user received the call. However, a caller who decides to leave a message within the user's voice mailbox remains uncertain as to when, if at all, the user received the message.
It would be desirable to provide an improved handheld electronic device which is structured to operate in an improved fashion in response to an incoming message received by the handheld electronic device.
Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the specification.